CALGARY, Alta. – Only two tournaments remain on Canada’s National Men’s Team’s schedule before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and Hockey Canada has released the names of the 25 players selected to wear the red-and-white at the Channel One Cup, a three-game tournament in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 13-17.

The management and coaching staff of Canada’s National Men’s Team – led by general manager Sean Burke (Windsor, Ont./Montreal, NHL) and head coach Willie Desjardins (Climax, Sask.) – will use the Channel One Cup as part of the ongoing evaluation of Canadian talent in the lead-up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

The majority of the 25 players on the Channel One Cup roster have participated in at least one tournament this year with Canada’s National Men’s Team; goaltender Barry Brust (Swan River, Man./HC Fribourg-Gottéron, NLA) and forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (Hull, Que./Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, KHL) are making their first appearance with Team Canada this season, while Matt Frattin (Edmonton/Barys Astana, KHL) was named to the Karjala Cup roster but was unable to participate.

“This has been a very busy few months of evaluation of Canadian hockey talent from around the world, and we are feeling very positive about where we’re at in the process. We’re looking forward to the Channel One Cup and seeing how this group of players comes together at the tournament,” said Burke, who represented Canada as a player numerous times internationally, including at two Olympic Winter Games – in 1988, and in 1992, where he captured silver. “Our goal remains to put together the best possible team to compete in PyeongChang in February, and these 25 players are part of a larger group that remains under consideration. We continue to evaluate every Canadian player that’s eligible to play at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in order to gives ourselves the best possible chance for success in Korea.”

In late July, Hockey Canada unveiled its plan for Canada’s National Men’s Team for the 2017-18 season, including its full management and coaching staff, as well as an extended schedule that allows for multiple opportunities for team staff to bring together Olympic hopefuls as part of the evaluation process. Two tournaments are slated for December – the Channel One Cup in Moscow, and the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, Dec. 26-31.

Player selections have been led by Burke with input from the management group as well as the coaching staff, which includes Desjardins and assistant coaches Dave King (Saskatoon, Sask.), Scott Walker (Cambridge, Ont./Vancouver, NHL), Craig Woodcroft (Toronto/Genève-Servette HC, NLA), and scout Morey Gare (Nelson, B.C.).